At the age of three, Louis Braille suffered a tragic accident in his father’s saddle making workshop. The young boy had taken hold of a stitching awl, which slipped from his grasp and pierced his eye. Within days he could not see out of the eye. Sadly, Louis was completely blinded shortly thereafter when an…

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Seldom does someone consciously choose to stop growing. Yet we all know people whose influence has leveled off or gone into decline. Why do hard-working, well-intentioned leaders plateau? How can people ascend the levels of influence throughout their careers, but then suddenly stop climbing? About five years ago I facilitated an all-day roundtable with 15…

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Where does vision come from? How does a leader develop a clear vision for the future?At the earliest stages, the word “vision” may be somewhat misleading, portraying vision as a picture that we can see. The birthplace of vision isn’t the mind’s eye, but the heart. In the beginning, visionaries are guided by passion not…

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Distraught over massive financial losses incurred during the past year, Adolf Merckle scrawled a suicide note to his family and wandered out the door into a dark, wintry night. He made his way for the railway where he stood by the tracks and waited in the cold. Spotting the headlight of an oncoming railcar, he…

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How did James Cameron direct a movie as incredible as Titanic or Avatar? How is Alicia Keys able to write world-class music in an era when few elite performers pen their own lyrics? How does Pixar keep churning out animated blockbusters? The answers all involve vision. The best leaders are able to see a vision…

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Perseverance is not an issue of talent. It is not an issue of time. It is about finishing. Talent provides hope for accomplishment, but perseverance guarantees it. Running Past Failure As a small child, Vonetta (Jeffrey) Flowers dreamed about being in the Olympics. She ran everywhere she went, and gained a reputation among her school…

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Want to Live the Dream? Pay the Price. Have you ever been strolling through a shopping mall or car lot when – POW! – THE perfect product captures your attention? Perhaps it’s the sporty convertible with a V-8 engine and unbelievable acceleration. Maybe it’s the adorable dress that’s exactly your style, has a flattering fit,…

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Domino’s Pizza recently launched a bold, unorthodox campaign to resurrect its image. In a series of ads and on its website, www.pizzaturnaround.com, Domino’s airs actual customer complaints about the poor quality of its traditional pizza, and promises better taste from newly released recipes. It certainly must be painful for the pizza chain to admit that…

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Had Chesly B. Sullenberger known that US Airways Flight 1549 would fly through a flock of geese and lose both engines, then he likely would have stayed out of the cockpit that day. After all, who in their right mind wants to pilot an engineless aircraft? Thankfully for the 155 passengers on board, however, the…

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